568. Why Are People So Mad at Michael Lewis?

Behavioral scientists have been exploring whether a psychological reset can lead to lasting change. In this update of a 2021 episode, we survey evidence from the London Underground, Major League Baseball, and New Year’s resolutions to look at accidental fresh starts, forced fresh ...  Show more

A series of academic studies suggest that the wealthy are, to put it bluntly, selfish jerks. It’s an easy narrative to embrace — but is it true? As part of GiveDirectly’s “Pods Fight Poverty” campaign, we revisit a 2017 episode. SOURCES:Jim Andreoni, professor of economics at the ...  Show more

Peter and Michael discuss Michael Lewis’s bestselling book about the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, a young prodigy whose only flaw was that he dreamed too big.

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Story hound Michael Lewis is back with a new book that charts the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, once the world's youngest billionaire. A journalist once said that they would read a history of the stapler if Michael Lewis wrote it, and he delivers his most compelling story y ...  Show more

Economist Daron Acemoglu likes to tackle big questions. He tells Steve how colonialism still affects us today, who benefits from new technology, and why democracy wasn’t always a sure thing.

Best-selling author Michael Lewis has a knack for extracting page-turning drama out of otherwise mundane and complicated subjects (hello, bond trading and baseball stats). Several of those books have been so good they’ve been turned into award-winning dramas starring half of Holl ...  Show more